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leica beginner (first post)... looking for advice.


joeq

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hi all,

 

just got my first leica (an m6) with a 50mm f/2 lens. i've been a photographer for years (both slr and digital) and i'm looking for a way to quickly ramp up my rangefinder skills. right now, it seems really slow and i like to shoot in the street... which requires speed.

 

i know many of the great street photographers shot with leica's - so what were their secrets behind focusing and setting exposure quickly.... before the moment is gone?

 

thanks!

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Welcome to the forum, :) The secret is rather trite - set the focus and exposure before the moment arises....

 

thanks - but doesn't the light all the time? i mean, one minute i'm shooting at someone who's in the sun, the next in shadows, etc.

 

or am i overcomplicating things?

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Hyperfocal distance... :)

 

Quite.

 

Preset focus.

 

Preset exposure.

 

Hold camera ready.

 

Raise to eye.

 

Shoot.

 

THEN -

 

Adjust focus, framing, exposure etc if you have the time.

 

Another approach is to keep the lens focussed at one extreme or the other. It is easier to focus it in one direction rather than hunt back and forth.

 

Also, learn to use the area outside the framelines - it is one of the big advantages of the Leica rangefinder that you can see what is coming into frame and anticipate it.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

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Welcome to the forum!

 

With a manual exposure camera you will need to learn how to quickly set the correct aperture or speed

 

Using a film with a wide latitude will help, but there's no substitute for getting the exposure right

 

It's all part of the fun :)

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thanks - but doesn't the light all the time? i mean, one minute i'm shooting at someone who's in the sun, the next in shadows, etc.

 

or am i overcomplicating things?

Yes, but Leica has these little red arrows in the viewfinder which will help you correct exposure very fast, provided you have set an acceptable basic value. The same goes for focussing, if you preset the focus approximately right the rangefinder will allow you to focus faster than the average AF system. Do not fall into the RF beginners trap of fiddling the focus ring backwards and forwards. Just turn it in one direction (the right one...;))until you have focus. You will see the RF patch snap into maximum contrast the moment that happens.

Or, as some will suggest use the hyperfocal distance or zonefocus. I do not like those methods, as I am of the wide-open plane of focus school, but there are many ways to get to an optimum result.

The trick is just to practice and practice more until it has become a second nature.

Edited by jaapv
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1. Aperture to f8

 

2. Set the exposure to predominant light with the meter

 

3. Push the focusing ring all the way to inifinity

 

4. Draw the ring back to correct focus when you have your subject

 

5. Click!

 

6. Advance film, push focusing ring back to infinity

 

7. Repeat 4,5 & 6

 

(Don't worry so much about exposure. Film latitude is -2 to +2...enough to cover shooting in both bright light on one extreme and shadows on the other)

 

Welcome to the Forum

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Here's a secret technique that has served me well, but don't tell anyone. Find an interesting backdrop that has people moving in front of it. Frame the backdrop and wait for the 'right' subject to move into position. This way lets you get really close to your subject and they often don't even realise their picture has been taken if you keep your camera to your eye afterwards. It also lets you photograph their face. Shots of peoples backs of head is NOT street photography. The backdrop can be a wall, or something else just as obvious. But it can also be a group of people. Try standing just outside a doorway to a shopping arcade. The bottle-neck will give you a pre-set plane of focus and a nice frame.

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^^^

 

I saw someone do just that in Daytona last year: set up a tripod with camera atop aimed at a storefront and snap passersby as they cross between

 

Some of the shots were truly fascinating in their candidness: bikers, tourists, hookers, kids, the whole gamut

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Guest WPalank
^^^

 

I saw someone do just that in Daytona last year: set up a tripod with camera atop aimed at a storefront and snap passersby as they cross between

 

Some of the shots were truly fascinating in their candidness: bikers, tourists, hookers, kids, the whole gamut

 

Was his name Sean Reid?? ;)

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I started using rangefinder cameras during the 1950's. Here is my advice:

 

1. Set basic exposure. If you are using negative film, set one f-stop more than 'basic sun-behind-your-back'. One stop extra exposure won't hurt your negs. Keep an eye on the exposure display too see if you have to adjust the setting.

 

2. During the pauses in the shooting, set focus to infinity. This way you will know immediately which way to turn to focus, when action begins. Remember, focus throw to three or even two meters is short, you lose more time by fiddling with the setting.

 

3. Keep your thumb behind the winding lever all the time. Make it an unconscious reflex to re-cock the shutter immediately as soon as it has been released.

 

4. If you intend to take a vertical picture, turn the camera AFTER focusing.

 

5. Exercise. Dry-run the camera around your home, focusing on various objects at different distances until the whole thing becomes as reflexive as riding a bicycle.

 

6--9. Exercise, exercise, exercise ...

 

10. Have fun.

 

A M is, 'mechanically', a very simple camera to operate. The emphasis is on the operator's judgment, not on the camera which should be simply an extension of yourself. YOU make the pictures. The Leica M is a hardcore camera for hardcore photogs.

 

The old man from the Age of the M3

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All of the above, plus:

 

Find out about the Sunny 16 rule. Actually more like sunny 11 depending on your climate. It assumes the standard exposure is f/16 @ the reciprocal of the film speed in bright sunshine; eg, 1/125 @ f/16 with ISO 100 film. That's if it's very sunny, say a beach scene. A bright day with the sun out is more likely to be f/11; overcast f/8; heavy overcast f/5.6; low light f/4 and so on.

 

The best way to be ready for fast shooting is to guesstimate the exposure first. Say you are walking along a sunny street, guess 1/125 @ f/8-11. A market at dusk, guess 1/125 @ f/2.8. Preset that exposure, then fine-tune your exposure as you walk along, camera round your neck. When you see something you would like to snap, you just have to adjust focus and twiddle the aperture ring only slightly for the diode(s) to light up indicating correct exposure.

 

Don't always rely on what the camera tells you. A handheld meter or just walking closer for a closer reading can help with exposure.

 

As for focus, set to about 4m for street scenes, infinity for landscapes. You then have to adjust the focus ring only slightly when you take your picture.

 

Try to focus on vertical lines if you are shooting horizontally; focus on horizontal lines if you are shooting vertically.

 

I concur totally with the above advice: Have fun!

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I think one of the real joys of M photograph is working with film's great latitude in regard to exposure.

 

Where I live it's quite simple to set f8@1/1000 (ISO 100) in brightest conditions, f5.6@1/500 in morning/evening/partly cloudy and slide down to f4@1/250 or f4@1/125 on cloudy days or shooting into slight shadow.

 

If you spend the amount of time shooting that you should it soon becomes habit to guesstimate exposure accurately.

 

I only recently put a working battery into my MP after about a year of living with the one that quit, just kept on shooting with what I knew worked well.

 

Wonderful cameras, these M's....

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thanks to all for the tips - going out shooting now.

 

I think one of the real joys of M photograph is working with film's great latitude in regard to exposure.

 

Where I live it's quite simple to set f8@1/1000 (ISO 100) in brightest conditions, f5.6@1/500 in morning/evening/partly cloudy and slide down to f4@1/250 or f4@1/125 on cloudy days or shooting into slight shadow.

 

If you spend the amount of time shooting that you should it soon becomes habit to guesstimate exposure accurately.

 

I only recently put a working battery into my MP after about a year of living with the one that quit, just kept on shooting with what I knew worked well.

 

Wonderful cameras, these M's....

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